Trudie who lives in the Eastern Green area with her two sons aged six and eight took on the role of decorating the communal green area to help raise community spirit during the festive season after much loved former resident Beryl passed away.
Beryl lived at Freshbrook Close with her husband for over 35 years before she sadly passed away in 2019 and for many of those years she spent each December decking out the communal green with her complex festive light arrangements for the community to enjoy.
Trudie said: “I think this year more than ever it is important that we all pull together to ensure no one feels alone over Christmas. Beryl used to do such lovely festive displays and the children who live here loved them and I wanted to keep the magic alive for them after what has been a difficult few years. Small things like this can make such a difference to some people, the lights provide a meeting and talking point for neighbours. I hope I do Beryl proud, she was such a lovely kind lady.”
“Thank you to all residents who have contributed, I hope they support me in future years. A special thanks to Aaron and Linda for allowing me to use their electric. Thanks also to D A Giles for the barriers and our local Tesco for the voucher to buy mulled wine and to Gulval school for the loan of the gazebo.”
The lights that would otherwise have been given to charity have been refurbished by Trudie who organised a neighbourhood light switch on event with mulled wine and mince pies.
Keri Thomas, Community Connector at LiveWest, said: “Everyone has faced a tricky few years and it’s important for them to know others care for them, especially at Christmas time. Communities are lucky to have people like Trudie who go above and beyond to make things special. It’s important for LiveWest to encourage our communities to pull together to ensure no one feels alone. I went along to the event and it was brilliant to see the children dancing around in the fake snow and mesmerized by Father Christmas.”
A communal shed was donated by LiveWest to house the lights, installed by staff volunteers. Glendale, the estate’s grounds maintenance contractor, gave up their time to ensure the ground was ready for the shed to hold the lights.